Favourable current and calm morning conditions set the tone, with Jono digging deep through a demanding afternoon leg to bring his total distance to 836.8km.
Biggest Day Yet – 11 Hours In The Water, 35.82km Banked
By Live Ocean
27/02/2026
Read time: 3 min
Article Summary
Main Points
Public support continues to surge alongside him, with more than 20,800 people now backing the call to end bottom trawling.
A record-breaking day on the water for Jono Ridler – 11 hours of swimming and 35.82km added to the live tracker on Thursday, 26 February, marking the biggest single day of the Swim4TheOcean mission so far.
Support for the mission continues to build too. Since passing 15,000 signatures on 19 February, more than 5,800 additional names have been added to the call to end bottom trawling – taking the total to 20,800 and climbing. As Jono tracks down the East Coast, more New Zealanders are getting behind the push to end bottom trawling.
Departing in the early hours from Te Ariuru Marae, north of Tokomaru Bay, where the crew had been hosted, Jono began before dawn and finished in fading light. The mission is now tracking down the outer East Coast of the North Island, heading towards Tūranganui-a-Kiwa Gisborne.
Swim one began at 5:15am and ran through to 10am. At 8am, On-Water Operations Lead Andy Tuke reported: “A beautiful little northerly breeze of five knots. Nice current, 560 metres an hour right behind Jono – pushing him along nicely. We’re 2¾ hours into the swim. Jono has gone 8.77km… so well over 3km average. It’s shaping up to be a great morning and hopefully a great day.”
Swim two ran from 2pm until 8pm, bringing the day’s total to 35.82km – the largest distance covered in a single day since leaving North Cape in early January.
“Jono’s doing great – absolutely smashing it. The biggest day yet. I think he’s going to get upwards of 35km today – 11 hours of swimming,” said Jules Bell from the RIB during the afternoon shift.
As he climbed back aboard the StabiX support boat just after 8pm, Andy congratulated him: “Well done. Woohoo – 11 hours swimming. Congratulations, buddy.”
Reflecting on the six-hour afternoon leg, Jono said: “I had to dig a bit deeper than I thought I would – for different reasons. Eating too much food beforehand was a bad idea, as it always is. I was a bit rushed and tried to squeeze some down. And I got cold – anyway, I got through it.”
The team came ashore late evening at Tolaga Bay.
According to the live tracker, Jono has now covered 836.8km. Based on the projected total route of 1,387.53km, approximately 550.7km remains to Wellington.
The next planned community stopover is Midway Surf Life Saving Club in Gisborne – timing dependent on conditions and progress.
Total distance covered: 836.8km
Projected distance to go: 550.7km
Swims at a glance – 26 February
Swim 1
Time: 5 hours
Distance: 15.51km
Average speed: 3.1km/h
Swim 2
Time: 6 hours
Distance: 20.31km
Average speed: 3.4km/h
Join The Call To End Bottom Trawling
New Zealand is still bottom trawling seamounts in our own waters, and the only nation still bottom trawling seamounts in the South Pacific high seas.
It’s time to stop being an outlier and protect the ocean’s most vital habitats.
We’re calling on the New Zealand Government to end bottom trawling on all seamounts – at home and in the high seas by the end of 2027 – and to activate a quick transition away from bottom trawling entirely.
We are a nation of innovators and ocean people.
It’s time to do the right thing.
For the ocean. For our future.
Add your name to the
29,544 others calling for an end to bottom trawling!
29,544 others calling for an end to bottom trawling!
Thank you for getting behind Swim4TheOcean’s ambition for a healthy ocean and supporting our call for an end to bottom trawling!
Leave your message for Jono
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